Thursday, July 12, 2012

Requiem by Bill Kitson, Writing as William Gordon

The year was 1878. The place was Byland Crescent, located
in a town called Scarborough, on the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire,
England.

The story is about the Cowgill family that grew up
in poverty. Albert was the son determined to free the family from
impoverishment.He decided to learn the
wool business early on and as a result he managed to become a respected, wealthy,
business partner of a global wool merchant business. He was only twenty-three
years old.

Albert did extremely well, being promoted often. The
business grew and prospered because of his innovative ideas. The three partners
were living well; married, children, maids, butlers, servants for their every
need. Albert brought in family members to his firm to share the wealth.

Meetings were held involving deals and decisions were
made for the thriving wool merchant business. There was honesty, integrity, and
loyalty, however, the intrigue in Requiem
was the conspiracies, manipulations, and deceptions. This perfect mixture is
what made Requiem such an impressive
book.

Partners came and went, employees were promoted and
demoted, family members were disowned, and people were murdered. The author left
nothing out of his remarkably chronicled family saga.

All this drama took place before the start of WWI. Then
in the midst of the war, family life changed dramatically. Hence to say, maids, butlers, and servants for
their every need were not part of daily life anymore. Everyone had to pitch in
to help with the war. Tragedy affected every family. Some members came home wounded;
others never made it home.

The family problems in Requiem were not just business and war related. Health issues of the early 1900’s took many
lives. Family problems concerned children who were disowned for being gay and others
who married beneath parent’s expectations.

I thought Requiem
was a literary masterpiece which possessed each trait determined for a master
work. For example, there were many characters and places yet there was never a
time I was lost or confused. The author had an effective, subtle way in his
style of writing to add a reminder just when it was needed.

This was my first book read by Bill Kitson, Writing
as William Gordon, and it was a pleasure to start with Requiem. This was Book One of the Byland Crescent series. At the end
of Requiem it states Book Two, is
coming soon.

I recommend Requiem for readers of all ages as it’s also
an enjoyable way to learn history. I’m anticipating another great read when
Book Two is released.